No matter what our age, background or relationship status, we’re all connected by one common theme – our quest to find love.

However, as communication has become more real-time, and our reliance on being constantly connected grows, the ways in which we date and go about pursing new relationships has inevitably changed. With technology weaved into the fabric of our day to day lives, online dating is no longer an exclusive realm for oddballs and is now viewed as a legitimate, if not natural, a place as any to look for love.

With that in mind it’s no real surprise that online dating is now the third most popular way to meet a potential partner; behind meeting through friends and family and at the work place.

Having said that, to suggest that online dating is the 'solution' to a lonely heart implies that online dating is a fail-safe, fast-track route to finding ‘The One’. Likewise, the term 'lonely hearts' makes logging on to find love sound as though it’s the equivalent of signing up to an AA meeting for singles - 'Alone and Anonymous'. The truth is though, love isn't like an algebra equation that can be solved, and joining a dating service isn't a declaration that you need help because you can't find love in the 'real world'.

In fact, online dating can't even guarantee that you'll find love at all; it’s simply another means of meeting someone. However, what online dating does do brilliantly is open up a whole new arena for those looking to cast their nets a little wider and explore their options.

Everyone is looking for their very own version of love and going about finding it their own way; whether that be by locking eyes with a stranger in a local bar, e-flirting over e-mail at work, relying on friends to play cupid, or finding a mate at the click of a mouse.

Online dating is no more a solution to lonely hearts than any other way of meeting someone new; it just has the advantages of being a little more accessible, slotting effortlessly in to modern day life and putting thousands of singles at your fingertips.

If you’re looking for another place to meet new people, why not join Independent Dating and explore a new route to finding love today? With a large network of singles, you’re sure to find just what you’re looking for.